Kung Fu Panda 4
by Salekov
Summary: After defeating Kai and bringing peace to Kung Fu, Po is living his life as a teacher at the Jade Palace, training both pandas and villagers in the art of Kung Fu. With Tigress as his partner, their relationship becomes stronger than either of them expected. All the while, an ancient evil lurks in their midst, who’s only will is to destroy the Dragon Warrior.
1. Preface

The Dragon Warrior watched as the many villagers practiced what he had taught them. It had been a year since he defeated Kai in the spirit realm, and things couldn't have been better. He had finally mastered teaching, mastered chi, mastered inner peace, and everything needed to become what he is now. He had truly become the teacher, the master, as Shifu had said. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled, taking in what he had started. Joy filled his soul, and peace flooded his mind. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned around to see Tigress holding a plate with two cups of tea on it.

"How's the class coming along, dragon warrior?" She said as she handed him a cup.

"Oh, thank you. And it's coming along just fine Tigress! Right now they're practicing this sweet set of moves a came up with. I call it, Double Death Destruction Combo! Sounds cool, right? I'm working on coming up with a better name though."

Tigress laughed at Po's usual comedic energy and shook her head. "Sounds intimidating." She said, smiling at him.

"Really? Might as well keep it then!"

Po and her then both sat down, watching as the class continued to practice. He let out a sigh, taking in the sight of the villagers training.

"This is great."

The tiger smiled at her panda friend. "It sure is, Po."

"I never expected that one day I would be teaching a class. I dreamed about it a lot, but that's all I saw it as; a dream."

"Hm. And we never thought you could do it."

Po frowned, remembering that day when he disastrously failed to train the five. He was about to mention it, until Tigress cut him off.

"But you proved us wrong."

Po smiled.

"Yep, sure did!" He said boastfully as he laid back with his paws behind his head.

"Hmph." Tigress muttered, smiling. Letting out a sigh, she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on her arms.

"Hey Tigress."

"Hm?"

"I was thinking, you know...We've been friends for awhile and we've been on a lot of missions, just me and you, and uh...I was thinking...maybe you'd like to be my teaching partner?"

The tiger's eyes lit up with joy, even though she kept her demeanor the same.

"Po, I would love that!"

"You would?"

"Yes!"

"Well, Awesome!" He shouted as he sat up. He then hugged her, causing a small blush to appear on her face.

"Master Po." Zeng said as he came from inside the Jade Palace. "Master Shifu would like to speak to you."

Po turned to Tigress.

"Speaking of which, you mind taking over the class for me?"

"Not at all." She said.

Po smiled at her and then hurried up the steps into the Jade Palace.


	2. Teacher To Teacher

The panda followed Zeng into Shifu's room and found him sitting on the floor, meditating as usual. Zeng signaled for Po to go to him, and he obliged.

"Uh, hey Master Shifu! You needed me?"

"Ah yes. Have a seat Dragon Warrior."

Po sat down in front of him, accidentally blowing out most of the candles.

"Oops, sorry!"

Shifu sighed. "It's alright." He said, grabbing the candles and putting them in a covert. Walking over to Po, he sat back down in front of him.

"I called you hear to ask you how the class is going."

"Oh, it's going great! I was just in the middle of teaching before you called me back here."

"I interrupted a class? My apologies, Dra-"

"No no no, it's fine! I got Tigress to take over for me."

"Oh, alright then."

"Yea. In fact, I decided to make her my teaching partner!"

"Teaching partner?"

"Yup! Cool right?"

"If you think that will help you Dragon Warrior, then do as you please."

Po smiled and nodded his head.

"So everything is going good?"

"Yup."

"You sure?"

"Yea, everything's fine."

"Ok good. That's good."

The panda became worried.

"Are you ok Shifu?"

"Yes, of course. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, you just seem...concerned."

Shifu sighed.

"Look Po, I know it's been a whole year since you began teaching, but...There's still that old Master Shifu inside of me; the one that trained you. I still feel as if you barely know much about these things. Clearly I am wrong, but..."

The red panda struggled to find words to explain, but Po gently put his paw on Shifu's shoulder.

"It's alright Master. I understand."

Shifu smiled.

"I'm glad you do, Dragon Warrior."

The red panda stood up, Po doing the same.

"Well, that's all I needed to know. You are dismissed."

"Alrighty! Nice talk, learned a lot!"

Shifu snickered at his sarcastic tone.

"Trust me, Po. You'll have much to learn on your own. If I could teach you such, then I would. But you lead your own path now, Dragon Warrior."

The panda thought for a moment.

"Oh don't tell me I have to actually sit in a cave for 30 years!"

"Not for awhile, but yes, eventually."

"Argh!!" Po groaned.

Shifu laughed softly, thinking about what the future holds for the Dragon Warrior.

When the panda left, Shifu went towards the bookshelf at the end of the room. Pushing it to the side, he revealed a small room with many used candles of various sizes which formed a circle in the middle. Walking in, he closed the bookshelf behind him.

"Here goes nothing". He said as he pulled 2 blue stones from his pocket, both radiating a bright blue aura around the room.

He took a deep breath, slowly sitting down amongst the candles. Squeezing his eyes shut, he felt as the power from the stones surged through his body, and the room as a whole. The candles miraculously lit, and a golden portal formed on the wall in front of Shifu.

He felt as his spirit slowly began to leave his body and jump into the portal. Suddenly, the portal closed shut, the candles blew out, and Shifu's body plopped back onto the floor, the blue stones no longer in his hand.

He awoke on a rock that was floating amongst other pieces of debris.

The first thing he perceived was the gold color of the realm itself, and the various floating pieces of land which a spirit occupied.

"Take me to the Snow Leopard." He whispered to the stones, which had traveled there with him.

Suddenly, he teleported to a desolate mountaintop, where the only thing that was there, was a building that mirrored Chorh-Gom Prison.

He took a deep breath and slowly made his way there.

Arriving at the door, he raised his hand, gently knocking and stepping back, waiting for it to open.

"Who's there!?" A confused voice yelled.

The red panda struggled to answer, but forced himself to. He had to do this, the universe willed it.

"Tai Lung?" He replied.

Silence.

The door slowly creaked open, revealing a snow leopard dressed in a brown and purple garment.

He stared at the small figure in front of him.

"Shifu..." He simply said.

They both stood in silence for a few long seconds, until Shifu broke it.

"I came to see you."

"So it seems."

More silence.

"So...Oogway was right?"

Shifu looked up at him, surprised by this.

"How is the Dragon Warrior doing?"

"Po? He's doing great. Not only did he become Dragon Warrior, but he defeated a peacock, of which name I'm sure you know."

"Shen. Yes, I've seen him around the Spirit Realm."

"And Kai. He defeated Kai."

"Kai? Hah, I'm glad. He's the one who took my Chi, and every other spirit that had any talent in Kung Fu."

"Kai took your Chi to? I never saw-"

"My amulet? Ah, who did? Nobody. I wasn't even used in his little Jade army. So pathetic, he was."

"Indeed, yes. Arrogance was his specialty, as well as destroying things."

"Why did you come here, Shifu?" The Snow Leopard said suddenly.

Shifu hesitated for a moment.

"I came to say...To say...To say that I'm sorry, for everything I've done. I'm sorry for lying to you, for making you believe that you were destined, for wasting your whole life training for this one purpose, of which I was so proud. Yet, my pride blinded me, and I turned you into something your not. It was my fault Tai Lung, and even though I found peace, it still haunts me. My love for you never died. To me, even after all that happened, even after denying my first apology and nearly killing me in rage, that of which I am responsible for, you were still my son. I love you son, and I'm sorry."

The snow leopard went from looking unamused, to looking as if he was about to break down and cry.

He grabbed the red panda embraced him.

"I-I love you to...Dad

Shifu hugged him back as they both shed tears of joy and relief.

Somewhere, in the depths of the universe, a star was born.


	3. The Dream

The panda quickly darted out of the Jade Palace and next to his tiger friend.

"Alright, I'm back! How's it going?" He asked.

"Well, I put them in groups of ten and gave them each a little technique to practice with."

"Nice!" Po shouted as he observed the students.

"Thank you, Master."

"Good one Tigress. You don't have to call me that you know?"

"Yes, but you are our teacher."

"Well yea, but-"

"So I will call you Master."

"Oh fine."

The tiger giggled.

"So what did Shifu want?"

"Oh, he just wanted to see how I was doing with teaching and stuff."

"And what'd you say?"

"That I've got a cool new teaching partner!" The panda said, playfully hitting Tigress on the arm.

A faint blush appeared on her face as she smiled at Po. She then playfully hit him back, but much harder.

"Ow!"

"Oh, sorry!" She said, rubbing his arm.

"It's fine, heh." He said, chuckling. "You still punching ironwood trees?"

"Moderately." She said, smiling.

Po chuckled and watched as the class worked on their techniques.

...

The bookshelf moved to reveal the same little figure which had entered into the room it harbored. He seemed dazed, the blue stones back in his hand. Yet at the same time, peace was outwardly upon him, and joy was his expression.

He sighed in relief, knowing that his son was also at peace.

"Indeed, I am proud of you." He said, remembering the young cub whom he had raised.

Suddenly, a dark presence came upon him, causing his whole body to shiver. It was all around him, the presence growing as his heart raced faster and faster.

"Are you proud?" It whispered.

"Who are you?" Shifu asked, slowly backing up against the wall.

But almost instantly, the evil presence vanished, leaving Shifu more confused then he had ever been in his life. Yet something deep inside him told him the presence was familiar, and he couldn't begin to think why.

Looking down, he saw that the stones in his hand had a red tint that was slowly fading away.

Quickly, he grabbed the case from under his bed, setting the stones in there and then putting it into the cabinet. Turning around, he surveyed the room, the anxiety from that evil presence still lingering within him.

"Oogway..." He quietly said. "Please don't tell me..." But he couldn't finish the sentence. The presence, even being gone, prevented him from doing so.

...

The panda and the five talked amongst each other as they made their way to their dorms. Mantis sat atop Crane's hat, while Viper and Monkey laughed as they told each other jokes. Each one of them entered their dorm rooms, telling each other goodnight. Except for Po and Tigress, who stood facing one another in the middle of the hallway.

"Well, today was pretty awesome!" Po exclaimed.

Tigress nodded and smiled.

"Can't wait to do it again." She said tiredly. "Well, I'm off to bed. Never knew teaching could be so exhausting."

"Hah, me neither." Po replied.

"Goodnight Po." Tigress said with a smile.

"Goodnight Tigress!"

Before Po could go to his dorm, Tigress quickly hugged him, causing a faint blush to appear on his face.

"Sleep well, Dragon Warrior." She said in a sweet voice. She then quickly departed and went into her dorm room, leaving Po in the hallway.

"Heh." Po chuckled nervously, the blush getting worse. Slowly, he went to his dorm room, lying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling.

Letting out a tired sigh, his eyes began to close, and he soon fell asleep.

...

As the panda slept, he began to have dreams. Not just ordinary dreams, but ones that felt real. The ones where you can feel, smell, taste, hear, and see so vividly, that when you wake up it's as if you weren't dreaming at all.

The first thing he noticed was that everything had a red tint, similar to his visions of Shen.

But instead of showing the past, it seemed it was showing the future.

All around him were land and structures reduced to ashes, peoples bodies strewn across the ground for miles. He could feel the heat of the fire around him, could smell the brimstone and taste the bitterness in the air.

As he walked amongst the devastation, he noticed his father's noodle shop in ruins, save for a small portion of it which made up a room. Quickly, Po ran to it, and was greeted by the sight of his father crushed under the rubble, nearing death.

"Dad! Dad!" He yelled frantically as he threw the rubble off of him.

"P-Po..."

"Dad!"

The sight was unbearable to him, making it impossible to control his emotions.

"Po...My son."

"Dad...Dad, I'm here! Oh god."

Tears ran down his face as he gripped his father's wing tightly in his hand.

"What happened dad...? What's going on...?"

A long pause came between them, until Mr. Ping broke the silence.

"You were too late..."

Suddenly, Po looked to his right, only to see the bodies of Shifu and the Five torn apart and sprawled out across the rubble.

"No!" He shouted in dismay.

Suddenly, the fire around him disappeared, along with everything in sight, and he found himself standing in total darkness.

"Little Lotus." An eerie and echoey voice said.

Po, tears filling his eyes, looked up to see who or what it was. But it said no more, and Po awoke from his dream screaming.

...

Po's cries awakened the five. Tigress was the first to wake up and run into Po's room, the others quickly following behind her.

"Po!" Tigress shouted. She ran to him and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him as he continued to let out horrific screams.

"Po, listen to me! PO!"

His screams became whimpers, and Tigress found herself unable to bear the sight of him like this. She began to cry herself.

"P-Po! What's wrong? W-What happened?"

The others stood behind Tigress with looks of shock and terror on their faces.

Slowly, Po's whimpering diminished, and he fainted.


	4. The Comforter

When Po awoke, he found himself in an underground room of the Jade Palace. All around him were shelves of medical supplies, medicine, and many other treatments for all kinds of different things. Yet the thing he needed most, was a comforter.

And looking to his left, he found it.

"Po! You're awake!" A voice said happily.

The panda groaned as he tried to sit up.

"No no no, you need to rest!" The voice insisted.

Po's blurred vision began to clear, and he made out tiger stripes.

Tigress.

He sighed with relief, remembering the horrible dream and being glad it was just that. But was it? He could still feel the heat of the flames, smell the brimstone, and taste the bitterness in his mouth.

And that voice, that evil voice. Burned into his conscience, unable to leave.

He whimpered and then let out a frightful yell, startling Tigress.

"Po, relax!"

He took a deep breath, and tried his best to keep calm.

Tigress had never been more worried in her life. She stared at Po with a gaze that defined care.

"Po...What happened? Why did you wake up screaming? Did you have a nightmare?" She asked.

"I..." Po hesitated.

"You what, Po?"

"I just...I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I...I woke up and everything was gone. Everyone was...dead. And-..." Po thought of the voice, and became petrified. He grabbed his head and let out a scared cry.

"Po, calm down!" Tigress shouted as she put his arms down.

"Listen to me. Just focus and talk to me, ok?"

Po nodded and took a deep breath.

"It...It was a nightmare, but...It felt so real. The valley was destroyed, and...My dad...You and the others..."

Po began to hyperventilate, tugging at the sheets of the bed as he felt as if his throat was closing up.

"Breath, Po. Breath." Tigress said in a soothing voice.

Po managed to calm down a little.

He laid back down on the bed, breathing heavily, the smell of the brimstone slowly leaving his nostrils.

"It was just a nightmare, Po. You have nothing to worry about."

He turned his head to look at Tigress, and she gave him a reassuring smile.

"I...I guess so." He said tiredly.

"But...It just felt so real, Tigress! I-I could feel the fire around me!"

"Some dreams do that. Especially the nightmares."

Tigress thought back to the orphanage. She saw herself sleeping in the corner of her room, moving around as she had nightmares of her being a monster, terrorizing the other orphans.

"But...what if it means something?" Po suggested.

Tigress instantly caught on to what Po was trying to say.

"Po, you defeated Kai. You've fulfilled your destiny. There's always gonna be foes, but something like Kai? I don't think so."

"Then...Why else would I dream of something like that?"

Tigress thought for a moment.

"Maybe...Maybe because you're afraid."

"Afraid?"

"Yes. Afraid of losing us."

Po turned his gaze towards the ceiling, thinking.

"Ever since I met you Po, I noticed something about you. Your caring for others. Even though you never met me or the others before, it was as if we were your family. And I was too blinded by my jealousy and hatred to see that then. But I definitely see it now. You care so much, and your biggest fear is losing everyone you love. Which may be why you had a nightmare like that."

Po turned his gaze back to Tigress, his cheeks kind of red after hearing her kind words.

"I...I do love you guys. More than anything. And that is my biggest fear. Losing you."

Tigress smiled, admiring her friend.

"And perhaps that's why you had the nightmare." Tigress said.

"Yea...I guess so." Po replied, sighing with relief.

"Just don't think about it. Think about teaching! Which we have to do in the morning, so get some rest." Tigress said in a joking manner.

Po chuckled, but then sighed.

"I...The nightmare. I don't wanna have that again."

Tigress sighed herself, and bent down towards Po.

"You won't. And you won't ever lose us, Po."

Tigress slowly moved closer and kissed Po gently on the cheek.

"Get some rest, ok?" She said.

Po nodded.

Getting up, she walked towards the door.

"I'll come and wake you up in the morning. Goodnight, dragon warrior." She said, smiling.

Po watched as she walked out of the room, holding his hand to his cheek as his face turned red.


End file.
